Fear
"Where have you been?" he asked in his cool, smooth voice.
"Out," I said shortly. "How was New Orleans?"
"Boring, without you. Where did you go?"
I got the feeling he wasn't lightly going to let this go. "I went to Fangtasia. There was a live band, Dead Beat, playing there this evening."
He sniffed suspiciously. "You smell of Eric," he said, his voice flat.
"We danced a few numbers together," I said with a shrug. Okay, so there was a little more than just dancing, and the dancing itself had been most of the evening, but still. I objected to the possessiveness even more strongly than normal.
He frowned. "Eric is dangerous, Sookie," he said.
"So are you," I shot back, before he could carry on further with that line of thought – it wasn't as if I didn't know that. "Anyone can be dangerous. Heck, even I can be dangerous on a bad day. And he's been pretty decent to me, the last few days, when I really needed a friend."
He clearly didn't like the sound of that. "Why? What has happened?"
"Someone murdered my cat and threw her body at my door," I said harshly. "Eric… took her and buried her for me. And stayed to make sure nobody attacked me."
"You had sex with him," he said, seemingly as an observation, without any inflection in his voice.
"No, I most certainly did not!" I said indignantly, furious that he'd think that, and hurt that he saw that as more important than the death of my pet. "I stayed faithful to you, Bill. But now you're back, I can tell you it's over!"
He stared at me, lips compressing into a thin line. "You are going to Eric."
"Yes," I said. "I was only waiting for you to get back so I could tell you to your face. And now I have." I walked up the steps towards the front door, and as I passed him, he caught hold of my arm.
"You're making a mistake," he said urgently. "Eric is just playing you, no matter what he says to the contrary. Why are you throwing away what we have?"
"Bill, let go of my arm," I said, more steadily than I felt, wishing I'd had the foresight to get into the house first, before talking to him, where I could at least have rescinded his invitation. I tried to pull my arm away, but he held onto it, giving me a beseeching look. "Bill, let go."
"Yes, Bill, let go," said another voice. It was faintly accented. I looked in the direction it had come from, to see a blonde woman leaning casually against the wall of the house.
He loosened his hold on my arm. "Who are you?" he snarled, asking what I was thinking, "And what are you doing here?"
She shoved off from the house, and stalked towards us. "My name is Karin," she said, speaking to me, and ignoring Bill. "Eric called me back to his side when he realised how much danger you were in, and I have been watching over the house at night since then."
Something about the way she'd said it clued me in. "Eric's… your maker?" I hazarded.
She nodded. "I am his older child." To my surprise, she simply lifted Bill up by the scruff of his neck. "This woman has made her choice," she said dispassionately. "By the laws of our people, you must accept this, and abide by it. However, my maker wishes to question you, so I think you will be staying here for now." He looked as if he was going to say 'make me' but thought better of it, and subsided. "He will be here shortly. I called him to notify him that there was a vampire on your doorstep who matched the description he gave me. You were in no danger." She smiled at me, and I could see her fangs were partly out. Scariness seemed to run in the family.
"Can I get you a TrueBlood?" I asked politely.
She shook her head. "No, thank you. I don't drink while I'm on duty." I laughed, a little startled. Vampires aren't known for their senses of humour, mostly; clearly that was something else that ran in the family. "I will sit out here with my new friend Bill," she said, a wry look on her face, "and we will enjoy the stars while we await my maker. Do not let this stop you from going about your business."
"Thanks," I said, a little awkwardly; she inclined her head in acknowledgment.
I went inside, and got myself ready for bed, as there didn't seem to be much else I could do. I pulled my robe on over my nightgown, and shoved my feet into slippers, when I heard a car pulling up, and voices outside. I went to the front door and opened it.
"Family reunion?" I asked helplessly, to be greeted by the sight of Pam and Karin pecking each other on the cheek.
Eric laughed, looking up from where he was binding Bill's hands. "They have not seen each other in over a century, and have always got on well." Bill was maintaining a stony silence. "Up you get," he said to the younger vampire, hauling him to his feet. "Pam and Karin will take you back to Shreveport for questioning." He sent me a smouldering look. "I will stay here and guard Miss Stackhouse."
Pam looked as though she'd just been given an early Christmas present, though Karin simply looked amused. Between the three of them, they managed to manoeuvre Bill into Pam's car – she and Eric had clearly driven separately – though with a considerable amount of complaining and irritation from Bill.
When he was finally stashed in the car, Pam and Karin nodded their farewells to us, and got in, but before they could drive off, I was aware of a whining noise, and looked around in astonishment. A big border collie trotted out of the woods and settled at my feet, growling at Eric. Pam surreptitiously exited the car again, her body tensing as if ready to spring if the dog attacked her maker.
He glared at it. "Back off, Merlotte," he said with irritation. "We believe the vampire has done wrong, and he is under my jurisdiction."
I stared from the dog to Eric and back again. "Merlotte?" I squeaked.
"Hmm? Oh. He didn't tell you he was a Shifter?" said Eric, surprised.
"No, he didn't," I said, glaring at the dog. "You'd have won that wager, then," I said, remembering what he'd said about me knowing some Weres and Shifters.
"Of course; I never make a wager unless I'm sure I will win," he grinned. He looked back at the dog that was my boss. "I would ask why you're here, if you could answer."
"One bark for yes, two for no?" I suggested softly, and he chuckled.
"Yes, perhaps. Pam, Karin, I will deal with things from here." Pam nodded, and slid back into the driver's seat.
Once they'd gone, Eric crouched down to eye level with the dog – a long way down, given how tall he is.
"Did you come here intending to harm Sookie?" he demanded. Two barks. "To guard her?" One bark. I smiled a little; thanks, boss. Eric frowned. "I already have guards on her house, and I myself am guarding her tonight." There was a low whine. "Oh, get over it," he snapped impatiently.
"Get over what?"
He waved his hand at the dog. "He is unhappy that I am guarding you."
I shrugged. "He's not keen on me dating vampires. He probably thinks I'm jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, on that score." The dog barked once, and wagged his tale, looking at me hopefully.
"Probably jealous," shrugged Eric; the dog growled at him.
"Well, it's not like he made a move when I was single," I said tartly. I glared at the dog. "Now, listen, Sam Merlotte. I've made my own choice, and I'm happy with it. And though it's real sweet that you wanted to look out for me, as you can see, I've got protection right here." Nobody in their right mind would mess with Eric, after all.
The dog put his tail between his legs and gave me a sorrowful look.
"I'll be fine," I said more gently. "Really."
"No harm will come to her," affirmed Eric. "I will make sure of it."
The dog I couldn't quite think of as Sam gave another pitiful whine, but trotted off back into the woods; I decided I'd have to think of a different name for him. Dean, I thought; his eyes made me remember a man I'd known with that name. I let out a breath, and sat down shakily on the porch. "Well, that was weird," I said.
He chuckled, standing up to his full height. "Until you become used to seeing Weres and Shifters in their animal form, it is very peculiar," he agreed. "Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between them and an ordinary animal, but there are signs you can pick up if you know what to look for – greater size and intelligence, for example."
"You recognised him, though," I said thoughtfully.
"Mm. Our paths have crossed in the past. He distrusts me because I am a vampire; I dislike him because he is a Shifter," he said candidly. He came and sat beside me. "Karin said you told Bill," he said softly.
My pulse sped up. "So I did," I said, a little breathlessly.
"You come to me of your own free will?" he asked, turning a little so he faced more towards me.
"Yes," I whispered.
Fingertips under my chin, he tilted my head up, and kissed me softly on the lips. "Then you are mine," he murmured, "and rest assured, I will stop at nothing to ensure your safety."
I'm pretty sure that should have been scary, knowing what a vampire can do, but in a funny sort of way, I did find it reassuring. A guard dog might make me feel better (though there was no guarantee that a dog wouldn't end up the same way as poor little Tina had), but there's something comforting about knowing you've got a thousand-year-old warrior looking out for you, particularly one who was several times stronger and faster than any human stupid enough to try to take him on.
A sudden cool breeze made me shiver, and realise that I was sitting outside in just my nightwear. "Maybe you could do that from inside the house?" I suggested. "It's getting cold out here, and I'm not exactly dressed for the great outdoors." He laughed softly, and scooped me up into his arms, carrying me inside. I yawned, realising how tired as I was, and snuggled willingly into his arms when he sprawled beside me in the bed.
"Sleep, my darling," he murmured. And I did.
When I woke up it was daylight, and I felt immediately bereft with Eric no longer beside me; I found myself wishing that there was some way he could have stayed over. But then again, with this… relationship… being so very new, perhaps it was a little soon for that.
I scoffed at my thoughts; too soon for him to stay in my house during the day, when I'd spent the night in his arms? Still, it did feel a lot more intimate, somehow, than him staying with me to guard me. And though I definitely wanted to take things further with Eric (oh, boy, did I!), I wasn't quite ready for taking that final step yet.
Give it a day or two.
I chastised myself mentally; I wasn't brought up to hop from bed to bed, and it was perilously close to what I was doing. But being with Eric felt so right, somehow, that it was hard not to get swept up in that, in the passion and heat of his kisses, of my own reactions to him. I was in danger of falling for Eric every bit as hard as I'd fallen for Bill – perhaps even harder. He was such a vibrant, larger-than-life character, and though he was definitely dangerous and deadly, at the same time he could be fun-loving and caring – seeing the way he'd handled Tina's body, and the way he'd played with Coby and Lisa, had brought that home to me even more than his interactions with me had done.
I wasn't due to go into work, as it was my day off, but I wasn't hugely surprised when Sam called me. "Sam, before you say it, I'm fine," I said firmly.
He cleared his throat nervously. "Actually, I was calling about Jason. He was… I found him in his truck, passed out drunk and covered in blood, in the parking lot this morning. I was going to try to get him into my place, or home, and cleaned up, but Arlene came in and saw, so I had to call the police – Andy Bellefleur will probably be up to see you soon. The thing is…"
"What?" I asked tersely.
"I heard on the grapevine that the girl he was with last night was murdered. And he had… a tape… of them… you know."
"I can guess," I said dryly, my heart sinking. "Who was the girl? Do you really think he killed her?" Jason didn't seem the type, but how could I be sure?
"Amy Burley, and no, I don't think Jason killed her, any more than you do. Someone's trying to frame him for this – and is being darned clever about it, too."
I sighed. "Thanks for letting me know, Sam. And, you know, you could have told me yourself, about the shifter thing, rather than letting me find out that way."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'd intended for you to think I was a stray dog and take me in so I could stand guard, and then slip away in the morning. But I guess you've got all the protection you need." He was clearly trying very hard not to sound bitter.
"Don't start on that," I advised him. "Eric's made sure I've been guarded all the time Bill's been away."
There was silence for a while as he digested that piece of information. "What was it they were hauling him off for last night? Do they think he's involved in these murders in some way?"
I was surprised, as the murders hadn't come into it, as far as I was aware. "No, it's not about that, it's…" I took a deep breath. "I went to Fangtasia, Eric's bar, a few nights ago, to read some minds for him." It seemed so long ago, now; so many things had happened since. "Bill was already in New Orleans, so Eric picked me up and dropped me home himself, and we got to talking. Turns out that Bill had been feeding me misinformation about Eric, and so on. He couldn't figure out why he'd do that, until he mentioned that Bill was the Queen's Procurer."
"He's working for Sophie-Anne Leclerq?" he said, surprised. "News to me. But what does that have to do with it? I mean, she's Eric's direct boss, too, after all."
"We… think it's possible that it wasn't exactly an accident, me meeting him – him giving me his blood to heal me after the Rattrays beat me up, even me dating him," I said carefully.
"Son of a bitch," he swore, taking me by surprise – Sam hardly ever cursed. "He thinks Bill's set all this up to procure you for Sophie-Anne?"
"Pretty much the size of it," I said ruefully.
"And Eric's… protecting you? Is this why you agreed to work for him? He called about your contract, about providing a waitress."
"He said he'd do that," I said, grateful that, even with everything that had been going on, he'd remembered to do it. "Yes, he's protecting me, and taking it pretty seriously. He was there when Tina… we were in the kitchen, when we heard… he buried her for me."
"This is personal, isn't it?" he asked softly.
"Huh?" I asked.
"It's not just about protecting someone who's agreed to work for him, is it?" he clarified. "He… cares about you."
"Pam said he does," I admitted.
He sighed. "I guess I just didn't want to believe it," he said morosely.
"Sam…" there was a knock on the door. "Look, someone's here, probably Andy; I have to go."
"Okay. Take care, cher."
I rang off, and went to open the door. As I suspected, it was Andy. I was grateful to Sam for calling me, so that it wasn't such a shock to the system when he told me the reason for his visit.
He wanted to know where Bill was, of course, and I hedged by saying he was out of town, and had been staying at Blood in the Quarter in New Orleans on business. I didn't think I could really say, 'sure, he came back last night, and was carted off by the local vampire deputy sheriff for questioning over the procurement of a human.' It wouldn't look good, either for Bill, or for Eric and Pam, and I didn't want there to be any trouble for them.
Eventually, he left, and I sat at home, trying to take everything in. My boss was a shifter. My brother liked making sex tapes, and was being framed for these murders (I could believe many things of Jason, but not that he'd ever harm Gran, and probably not me, either; and definitely not Tina). My (now ex) boyfriend was being questioned in relation to whether he was involved in procurement of a human. And nobody was any closer to discovering who the murderer was. I still wasn't safe from attack, though Eric was doing his best to protect me.
I wondered vaguely if the person who was guarding the house during the day was a Were or a Shifter, or maybe the day man Eric mentioned.
I went about my daily chores on auto-pilot, not really able to settle to anything but the most mindless cleaning. Sid Matt Lancaster came to see me in the afternoon to tell me Jason had been arrested for first degree murder, and I discussed posting bail for Jason with him. I would find the money somehow, no matter how tight my finances.
The phone rang a little after sunset, and somehow, I knew who it was.
"Sookie, my associates tell me you were visited by the police and a lawyer today. What has happened?" asked Eric, not beating around the bush. He sounded tense, and I guessed he was worried about these murders, and the threat to me, almost as much as I was.
"My brother's been arrested for the murders of those girls. There was another murder last night, and he was with her for at least some of the night. I think someone's trying to set him up." I added, "They wanted to know where Bill was – the police, I mean – so I kind of fudged the issue, said he's been out of town on business, in New Orleans."
"That was sensible," he said distractedly. "The alibi you might have given him would have done him more harm than good, probably."
"Did Pam find anything out from him?" I asked.
He was silent for a long time. "Our suspicions were correct," he said finally, very gently.
I swallowed. "He was sent to procure me."
"Yes," he confirmed.
"How did Sophie-Anne know about me?" I asked, my voice wavering.
"Your cousin, Hadley Delahoussaye, was her… girlfriend." I thought he'd been going to use another word there, and wondered what it was.
"Was?" I asked.
"Now her child," he said. "Sophie-Anne turned her, quite recently. She was willing," he added, as if it really made that much difference to me.
"And Hadley told her about me," I whispered.
"Yes, according to what Bill has said."
"And the Rattrays? The Monroe vampires? The… the blood?" I squeaked.
"All as we suspected." I gave a soft sob. "He claims that he did come to care for you, love you, that he still does," he said, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.
"That utter bastard," I hissed.
There was silence for a long while. "You always deserved better than him," he said finally. "Even before I knew of this, I could not understand why someone like you should be with scum like Compton."
I gave a shaky laugh. "Well, thanks for that," I said. "Are you at Fangtasia tonight?"
"I'm afraid so," he said. "But Karin will be guarding the house, as before, and I will try to come to see you tomorrow."
I was disappointed I wouldn't be seeing him, but I knew he had duties to attend to that he must surely have been neglecting the last few nights to spend time with me. I worried, a little uneasily, that he might stop being so attentive now that I'd left Bill for him, but gave myself a severe telling-off for even thinking that; he couldn't keep taking time off work, any more than anyone else could, and it was unfair of me to hold one night against him. He'd called me, after all. And he had said he would try to see me tomorrow, and I might need that, after the bail hearing. I had no idea how these things even worked; it was going to be a tough day, tougher even than today had been, maybe. And everyone would stare, would judge, whether rightly or wrongly, and I would no doubt hear it all in their minds. I went to bed in a morose frame of mind.
I was woken up part-way through the night by a commotion outside, and peered out of the window. Karin was pacing to and fro on the driveway, talking on her cell phone, gesticulating wildly with her free hand. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but it was pretty obvious she was annoyed. I opened the window as she rang off.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Someone managed to sneak through the woods to your house," she said. "I tried to follow him, but he got into a truck that he'd left on the road, and I couldn't catch him, couldn't even see the licence plate." She was furious, her fangs fully down.
I could understand her frustration. "Hey, at least you stopped him from getting in," I said reasonably.
She relaxed, but only fractionally. "This is true. But now it is known that you are guarded, this man may be more cautious, more cunning, next time."
I could see her point, and shivered. On the other hand, Jason was in jail, so it couldn't have been him that was behind the murders – unless this was a random break-in attempt on a lonely farmhouse. The police wouldn't necessarily link the two, after all – there was no evidence to say that the man trying to break into my house was anything other than a burglar, bar the circumstances. I called and reported it, anyway, just to be on the safe side.
One night, I thought caustically as I stomped off back to bed, I might actually get an uninterrupted night's sleep.
I made an effort to dress up to go to Jason's bail hearing, though the heat of the day made me regret it. Posting bail cost a fortune, though the collateral was mainly against Jason's house, truck, and fishing boat. He stopped to speak with me on the court steps, his face looking so much older, his confidence clearly shaken.
"I didn't do it."
"I never thought you did." His thoughts were a mess, but over-riding everything else was the sheer horror and revulsion that anyone could think he'd murder his own grandmother whilst lying in wait for his baby sister. Jason had his faults, but he'd loved Gran, and he loved me, and it hurt him to know other people thought he was capable of harming either of us. "We'll get through this," I said, trying not to cry.
"We'll get through this," he repeated, as if saying it could somehow make it so.
I sat in the bar for a long time, trying to read the minds of all of the men who were in there, but turned up nothing that would help. In the end, Sam made me leave, saying it was creeping everyone out that I was sitting there. It was close to sunset, and I went home via the Grabbit Kwik to get some more bottles of TrueBlood in case Eric did manage to come by, and some milk for my morning cereal. I winced at the lurid thoughts in the cashier's mind, and hurried on out of there as fast as I could.
It was getting dark when I got home. I put the groceries away and got changed, trying to think of something to do for the evening – something other than sit around and mope. I needed to change my library books, and I couldn't settle to read, anyway, and there was nothing on TV. I considered watching one of the movies I had taped, but none of them sat right with me – Braveheart (a perennial favourite – how can you not love Mel Gibson in a kilt?) was just too bloody, and Gone With The Wind would remind me too much of Bill and his perfidy, since he'd lived through that era. I washed my face to get rid of the makeup, which had got all sweaty and sticky, when something on the edge of my consciousness made prickles run down my spine.
A scream of pain and rage. I wiped a towel hastily over my face, and ran to the front door. "Karin?" I called out.
I could hear struggling. "Call Eric!" she yelled back. "Silvered."
I slammed the door shut, and ran to the phone, and swore. It was dead. Someone had cut the phone. "Phone's dead," I shrieked into the night.
"Hang… on," she called back faintly, her voice sounding weaker.
I tried to decide on the best course of action – to stay in the house, which offered some protection, or to take my chances hiding in the woods. I knew them pretty well – but then again, it was possible that whoever was out there knew them, too. But if I stayed in the house, and whoever it was got in, I was trapped.
While I tried to figure out which was the lesser of two evils, I went around the house turning out the lamps, and making sure all the windows and doors were securely shut. It made the house stuffy and hot, as the night was warm, but that couldn't be helped.
I could cut across the cemetery to Bill's and use his phone. But since I'd left him, I wasn't sure how pleased he'd be to see me (assuming Pam and Eric had released him), or whether he'd help, and I wasn't sure I trusted him not to try to whisk me off to New Orleans to work for the Queen. I could try to get to my car, and drive to Merlotte's, where I could be sure Sam would let me use his phone, and would make sure I was safe. Or I could high-tail it straight to Fangtasia…
…Where Eric probably wouldn't be, because the club wouldn't be open yet, and he'd said he'd try to pop round. I gave a sigh of relief; Eric was probably already on his way here. I really hoped so.
I thought more rationally, after that. I normally kept the upstairs of the house shut off, to save on the heating – I didn't use the rooms, but went up to clean them regularly, just in case I ever needed them in a hurry. I crept up the stairs and hid myself away up there, shaking with fear. I seemed to be cowering there for hours.
I bit back a scream when I heard a thud on the window, and risked peeping up at it. My eyes widened as I saw Eric hovering outside the window, motioning to me to let him in.
I hurried over thankfully, opening it as quietly as I could. He slid inside, feet first, landing silently on the floorboards as I fastened it shut again. "You are unhurt?" he murmured, his arms going around me.
The pounding of my heart eased up a little, and I nodded, relaxing into his embrace. "I tried to call you, the phone's cut off. Karin said she was silvered?"
He nodded. "She managed to access her cell phone and text me. Pam is searching the woods for her."
I was trembling all over, as the night's events started catching up with me. Eric held me a little more tightly, rubbing my back reassuringly. "I'm glad you're here," I whispered.
He kissed the top of my head. "You will be safe," he said soothingly. "I will keep you safe."
I knew it, believed him whole-heartedly, but it didn't stop me from gasping in fear as I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps creeping up the stairs.